Hooves on gravel.\u00a0(Rooftop, no.)<\/p>\n
In farm-speak, hooves-on-gravel means trouble is afoot. Four of them. Four feet or pairs of four-footed critters on the LOOSE. Running. On the gravel roads that surround our farm. In other words, not pasture-fed, but free range, soon to be out-of-range cows (maybe horses) if something isn\u2019t done quickly. Done and gone. Gone before dawn.<\/p>\n
I threw on a robe,\u00a0pulled on some boots,\u00a0grabbed my\u00a0derringer,\u00a0scrounged a headlamp. Down several flights of stairs and into the dark, my searchlight searching for eyes. Whose?<\/p>\n
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Was it Lightning Bolt (LB), my horse? Paco, Kim’s horse? One of my milk cows? And why were they, it, he, she running back and forth and all around in such a panic? Wolves? Aliens? Imminent earthquake?<\/p>\n
Now when something goes haywire on a farm, ALL the animals start bellowing, whinnying, bleating, mooing (to laugh is human, but to moo is bovine). From bedded down to bedlam in 30 seconds flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bull. Twinkle. Eyes.<\/p>\n
It was my Jersey bull. He\u2019d busted through his fence and was pushing through another\u2014the pasture where my girls reside. (Animals and busted fencing aren’t a good mix. They can get injured easily and then you have that to deal with.) In other words, somebody was in heat, but we keep track of these things and none of our girls were scheduled for … you know.<\/p>\n
<<<<<<\/strong> I knew in a moment I must be real quick. \u00dc >>>>>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bully boy was in a bullish mood and not the least bit charming as I approached him. So I hatched a plan that involved hopping into my Jeep, cornering him with it, crawling out the passenger side, opening the gate with my right foot, shooing\u00a0all the girl cows back in with my left foot \u2026<\/p>\n In my robe.<\/p>\n He was in. Wipe the sweat off my brow. He\u2019s headed for a cow.<\/p>\n (Conjugal visit of sorts.)<\/p>\n Now, this story has a surprise and joyous ending. A tryst with a twist. <\/em>Earlier that day, after fretting for a month that something wasn\u2019t right (and with a blood test in hand that day to confirm my worst fears), it was determined that my\u00a0going-on-10-months pregnant milk cow, Chocolate, who I\u2019ve had for several years, wasn\u2019t going to have a baby after all. Her baby, whose heart we\u2019d heard beating only a couple of months before, had probably died inside of her. Problematic at best. Perhaps fatal to Chocolate. Devastating for me. We had a veterinary visit scheduled for the next day.<\/em><\/p>\n I stood in the dark. (In my robe.) Watching. Raising dairy cows is two parts night watch and only one part sleep. Bully boy went (let’s say charged) directly over to …<\/p>\n Chocolate. Chocolate? Unbelievable. The really good news?<\/p>\n She \u201cstood\u201d for him. Are you familiar with the term? It means she \u201clet\u201d him. In other words, she was in heat. (If not in heat, bully boy betta-fugget-about-it.) Which means, she\u2019d probably lost her\u00a0calf (born prematurely)\u00a0in the tall grass and we had missed it somehow. (Now that’s a story for another day.)<\/p>\n We kept our appointment with the vet, well, mainly because we just happen to be located near one of the top vet schools in the country. The veterinarian facility at Washington State University is a total class act and the doctors are just the kindest, most amazing mix of dedicated men and women you\u2019ll ever meet.\u00a0Here are the two docs who checked out Chocolate the day after her midnight tryst to confirm that, yes, there had been \u201cactivity\u201d the night before. Using an ultrasound, they confirmed that her uterus was clear and good to go again. Now, another\u00a0nine months of waiting and hoping.<\/p>\n Chocolate with her first baby, Molasses. Such a good momma. Notice how her eyes have changed\u00a0with age (dark circles).\u00a0The mask of motherhood\u2014worry this, worry that.<\/p>\n We’ll do a simple pin-prick blood test in three to four\u00a0weeks to\u00a0find out if her tryst was fruitful or not.<\/p>\n “Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.”<\/p>\n \u00a0-Thomas de Quincy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was a dark and stormy night \u2026 Stormy? Well, not so much. Dark?\u00a0Pitch dark. <<<<< When, what should my wondering ears hear? \u00dc >>>>>\u00a0 Hooves on gravel.\u00a0(Rooftop, no.) In farm-speak, hooves-on-gravel means trouble is afoot. Four of them. Four … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/cow-0574.jpg\" "\\"cow-0574\\"")
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